Do Androids Dream of Struggling with Identity?

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Angela Plura
Dr. Eugene Richie
English 120
20 October 2009

Do Androids Dream of Struggling with Identity?

Rick Deckard is a character who first comes to life in Phillip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and then again in the film Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott.In the novel, Rick Deckard is characterized by the city in which he lives, his failing marriage, and devotion to a religious leader called Mercer.In Scott’s film, it can be said that Deckard’s character has fewerdimensions and less depth.While there is still a prominent struggle for identity in the film, it is more focused on his desire for Rachael Rosen.In Scott’s film, the main common thread between both the film and the novel is Deckard’s guilt and exhaustion from his unconventional and morally questionable job, and whether or not he himself is the exact enemy that he is after.

It is understandable for humans, such as Rick Deckard, to question their identity. Sherry Turkle, a psychologist, states, “We have long known that personalities can fragment; but it is only recently that the concept of fragmented or “decentered” selveshas been seen not only as normal, but actually as psychologically healthy” (Turkle 123). In this article, Turkle is obviously talking about humans, not androids. As someone who has studied the human brain, Turkle acknowledges the fact that humans have the tendency to question and even “fragment” their identities. This notion reiterates Rick Deckard’s sense of self in the novel. The world has changed during the time that Rick Deckard has been alive—the world of fighting androids is not something he was born into. However, the world he was born into is portrayed differently in both the movie and the novel.

When Scott Bukatman describes the many layers of Blade Runner in his book, he asks the question, “Why does the city seem simultaneously crowded and empty?” (Bukatman 8).This poses an interesting aspect of Rick Deckard’s search for identity.Blade Runner portrays a city that seems to have a lot of life to it, whereas Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? describes a city that is void of human interaction.In Blade Runner, Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford, is seen in a bustling city with merchants on the streets, and blimps flying overhead.Seeing this as an interpretation of Dick’s world in Androids can be very confusing for the reader, because of how empty Dick’s description of the city seems to be.For example, Rick and Iran have a conversation describing the reasons for Iran’s depression at the beginning of the novel:

“I was sitting here one afternoon, and naturally I had turned on ‘Buster Friendly and His Friendly Friends’ and he was talking about a big news item he’s about to break and then that awful commercial came on, the one I hate; you know, for Mountibank Lead Codpieces. And so for a minute I shut off the sound. And I heard the building, this building; I heard the--”
“Empty apartments,” Rick said. He narrates, “…for this day and age a one-half occupied conapt building rated high in the scheme of population density; out in what had been before the war the suburbs, one could find buildings entirely empty…or so he had heard” (Dick 5).

Dick portrays the city of San Francisco to be eerily devoid of life. In a place where life is scarce and strange, it is easy to lose one’s identity and sense of self. In a bustling city, however, it is easy to identify with different people and feel saner—especially in times when human emotions such as sanity are rare. Rick’s struggle for identity is more prevalent in the novel partly due to the emptiness of the city, because he has to form his own identity in a place where there is no point of reference. The only contact he has with other beings is his wife, who is obsessed with defining herself through material things, or androids, which have no identity. Neither of these contacts serves as a sufficient way for Rick to define himself, and he is constantly being faced with the emptiness of the city, which seems to echo throughout his soul, similar to how it echoes throughout the apartment complex when Iran’s depression is fueled.

Deckard’s wife, Iran, plays a huge part in his struggle for identity in the novel. Deckard is constantly trying to please Iran in all aspects of their marriage. In the first chapter of the novel, Rick and Iran argue over Rick’s job, and most importantly, her mood setting. The zenith of their argument comes when Iran senses Rick’s desire to dial his mood to win the argument. Iran reacts coldly, saying, “If you dial for greater venom, then I’ll dial the same. I’ll dial the maximum and you’ll see a fight that makes every argument we’ve had up to now seem like nothing. Dial and see; just try me” (Dick 4). Iran’s desire to get into a severe argument with Rick is disconcerting, seeing as they should be coming together during these difficult times. Iran also makes it clear that she does not support his job, however, she does wantthe money he makes from his bounty hunting. This is illustrated when Iran says, “You’re a murderer hired by the cops” (Dick 4). Rick retorts, “I notice you never had any hesitation as to spending the bounty money I bring home on whatever momentarily attracts your attention” (Dick 4).

In Blade Runner, Iran is not even a part of the film. It can be said that the female figure of Iran is instead replaced with Rachael Rosen. Being the passionate, beautiful woman that she is, she strongly contrasts with the character of Iran, who is obviously jaded after years of marriage. Rachel seems to be a breath of fresh air for Rick, making it easier to be comfortable with himself (Harris). With Rachel, Deckard is able to take control of the situations the two are put in. Rachel and Deckard share an intimate moment in the film, in which Deckard tells Rachel to kiss him. He is persistent, and eventually she gives in and they engage in intimate relations (Blade Runner 1982).

This act of Deckard controlling his encounters with Rachel demonstrates Rick’s stronger sense of self than in the novel. He feels more confident to initiate what he truly wants to do, whereas in the novel, he feels pressured to only do what Iran wants him to do. Rick’s identity dissipates in the novel due to the control Iran has over him. In Blade Runner, however, Rick is a “free man” and has the confidence and sense of self to go after what he truly wants. Although in Androids Rick develops a closer relationship with the Rachel Rosen character Dick develops, at the end of the novel he returns to his wife. The power struggle in the novel exemplifies how confused and unsure of himself Deckard is, as opposed to his more assertive personality in the film. While there is a struggle from character to character, there is also a struggle between character and concept.

Mercerism is a concept found in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and has been debated by fans and critics alike. It is impossible to ignore the religious facets of Mercerism in the novel. Linking up to the empathy box to connect with Mercer is the most sacred act for humans to partake in—similar to going to a place of worship for religious followers. The true defining moment of Mercerism’s importance in the world Deckard is living in comes when Buster Friendly announces that Mercer isn’t real. After this announcement, the world continues just as usual; people speculate about Mercer’s existence but it does not produce the panic and uproar that Buster Friendly obviously hoped for (Dick 209-210). At the end of the novel, Deckard has his first true fusion with Mercer, and this is where he realizes his identity for sure. “It’s strange,” Deckard describes, “I had the absolute, utter, completely real illusion that I had become Mercer and people were lobbing rocks at me. … When you use an empathy box you feel you’re with Mercer. The difference is I wasn’t with anyone; I was alone” (Dick 234).

His fusion with Mercer can be described in religious terms as a connection with God or a higher power. With most human beings, this power is the ultimate force that one answers to. The presence of Mercer in the novel illustrates Deckard’s humanity. Although Mercer is something that appears naturally in Dick’s world, the fact that he chooses to accept Mercer and follow him, much like people follow a religion, shows his effort to be more human. Without this god-like force, some find it difficult to find their identity. In Ridley Scott’s film, there is no Mercerism. There is no ultimate force that any characters answer to. There are only replicants, and the struggle to capture and end the existence of replicants. The absence of this authority makes the world in the film seem much more remote than the world in the novel.

With the character of Rick Deckard, the difficulty of his struggle is directly related to his level of humanity. In the novel, Deckard struggles profusely with his identity, and there are many facets that prevent him from finding out for certain whether he is human or android. This intense struggle supports the notion that he is human, because he is able to withstand various tests of character throughout the novel. In contrast, Ridley Scott’s film portrayal of the novel depicts Deckard as having a stronger sense of self, with fewer complications to test his humanity. There are fewer aspects in the film that allow Deckard to define himself, which makes his character seem more “alien” to the audience. He has a less established life—no wife, no view of his home, and no introverted thoughts. Based on the city in which both stories take place, Deckard’s relationships with women, and the people or concepts to which he answers, it is clear that Deckard’s struggle to hold on to his humanity is far more prominent in the novel, making his character more relevant to the audience.

Works Cited

Blade Runner. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Harrison Ford, Rutger Haur, Sean Young, Daryl

Hannah. Warner Brothers, 1982. Film.

Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer,

Sean Young, Daryl Hannah. Warner Brothers, 1992. Film.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean

Young, Daryl Hannah. Warner Brothers, 2007. Film.

Bukatman, Scott. Blade Runner. London: British Film Institute, 1997. Print.

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 1968. Introduction Roger

Zelazny. New York: Random House-Del Rey, 1975. Print.

Fancher, Hampton and David Peoples. Blade Runner (Screenplay). 23 Feb. 1981. 4 Nov.

2007. < Web.

Harris, John. “Afterthought Reviews: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”. 11 December 2007. < Web.

Turkle, Sherry. “Cyberspace and Identity.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum: Brief Edition. Ed. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2004. 123-132. Print.